You guys know Karina Halle is one of my absolute favorite authors, and even though I originally fell in love with her… “horror-romance series” I just love that she’s writing so much contemporary romance, too!

Racing the Sun: A Novel is her latest upcoming release (it will be out in just a couple of weeks!!) but I have a fun excerpt for y’all right now.

But first… what’s this one about?

Racing the Sun: A Novel <— From the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Skycomes a new adult novel about a young woman who becomes a nanny in Capri and falls for her charges’ bad-boy brother.

When I’m traveling, I feel like the secret to my life, to myself, to really becoming, is one step ahead. It’s in the next destination, the next town I get lost in, the next stranger I talk to. It’s always next but never here . . .

After six months of backpacking and soul-searching across the world, Amber MacLean is flat broke. There are worse places for a twentysomething to be stuck than the Amalfi Coast, but the only way she can earn enough money for a plane ticket home to California is to teach English to two of the brattiest children she has ever met.

It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, the young master of the crumbling villa tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.

When her position turns into a full-time nanny gig, Amber grows dangerously closer to the enigmatic recluse. But can she give up the certainty of home for someone whose closely guarded heart feels a world apart from her own?

Read on for part 2… This is the Blue Grotto scene from the middle of the book… Blue grotto huh? *waggles eyebrows* Tee hee!!!

He takes my hand and we walk over to a locked gate, which he helps me climb over, lifting me up like I weigh noth­ing at all. We walk down steps carved into the rock and stop at the end. There are no stairs leading down into the water, which seems deeper and darker than I imagined. It’s one of those jump-in-or-don’t-get-in-at-all situations.

Now, I’m not afraid of the sea the way Derio is, but I’m also not a fan of deep water, especially when I can’t see to the bottom.

“Is this safe?” I ask him as he takes off his shorts, revealing his buck-nakedness underneath. I blink at his penis because it’s such a wonderful but unexpected sight. It even seems to grow under my watchful gaze.

“It is as safe as anything,” he says, gesturing to my dress for me to take it off. “Hurry, we only have so much time before the first boat shows up.”

“You don’t want them to catch you naked.”

He gives me a cocky look. “I don’t mind if they catch me naked. I might give a little old lady a thrill. But we could get in trouble and I don’t want that to happen to you.”

I can’t argue with that. I tear my eyes off his body, not surprised that he’s not the slightest bit bashful about it, and take off my dress, tucking it under his shorts on the platform. I can’t even see the entrance to the grotto from here; it’s just nothing but steep rock.

“I’ll jump if you jump,” he says, gripping my hand tighter. He smiles and his face looks so bright against the grainy light. It seals the deal.

“Okay.”

“Uno, due, tre,” he counts down.

And then we jump.

The icy water surrounds us and my first reaction is to kick for the surface. I let out a little yelp as my head breaks through and I stare right at Derio’s grinning face, his wet hair flopped over on his forehead, making him look a little like Elvis.

He lets out two hoots and pulls me close to him. We are still close to the rocks, though I’m not sure how we’re going to get back on the steps since the platform seems so high above the water now that we’re in it. I make the mistake of looking down between us. Beyond the pale white of our legs treading in the navy blue, the bottom remains dark and mysterious and out of reach. The cliffs must go straight down.

“Come on,” he says, pulling me along. We swim toward the opposite rock face and only then do I noticed the tiny entrance to our right. The hole to the cave is even smaller than I thought. I’m surprised a boat would even be able to pass through it. I can see why in rough seas, going in there wouldn’t be an option.

Once we’re at the mouth of the cave, Derio leaps upward out of the water and grabs hold of a chain that threads along the roof of the cave entrance. He pulls it down and tells me to hold on. “This is meant to guide gondoliers in and out of the cave. The water is not rough so you do not need it but it might make you feel better.” The fact that he’s holding on tells me I should do the same.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

Don’t forget to check out Natasha is a Book Junkie tomorrow for the next episode in the RACING THE RELEASE excerpt chain, and follow along with all the other stops for the full RACING THE SUN excerpt. There’s some steam coming – promise!

Now for the giveaway:

How to enter for a chance to win a print copy of Racing the Sun?Just leave a comment below, and by 10pm EST, Sunday July 19th 2015, I will randomly select ONE winner for the prize above.

The winner will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond with a mailing address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. This book will be sent to the winner directly by the publisher.

Giveaway open to US & Canada only, although all are welcome to comment!

Karina Halle is the New York Times bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky, The Pact, Love in English, and other wild and romantic reads. A former travel writer and music journalist, she lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails, and devours a lot of books.

First, how cute os she? And second – I totally agree – loved Dex and Perry, but also love her contemporary stuff. And last…. the cover of Love, in Spanish (with Mateo)…. my all time favorite hot guy cover! (Yay for a chance to win a copy of her new book).

I can’t wait to read this book! I love Karina Halle’s writing, and I love Italy, so what can be better than a book that combines both! I went to Italy a few years ago, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. We traveled throughout the country with close family friends from there, and that was the best way to experience everything- the food, the culture, the sites. Racing the Sun looks like it will incorporate all of the beauty that is Italy.

Karina Halle is another author I started reading after your recommendations about the EIT series. She’s become one of my absolute favorites and I think I’ve read all her books so far. Love her writing!

Karina Halle is my favorite author (even if I can never remember how to pronounce her last name!)! From her EIT series, which you, Maryse, turned me on to, to every contemporary she has written! I can’t wait for Amber’s story!

About Me

I am happily addicted to reading but I need to expend my book energy (especially when one puts me in an emotional frenzy - SO fun!). So, I release my feelings about the stories, by writing them down here. It's my book therapy. [ read more ]